


Little Sister, Little Brother, Please be Kind to One Another

by Misguidedghostwriter



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Angst, Character Study, Cuddles, Everyone Needs A Hug, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, M/M, Protective Siblings, Sibling Bonding, Vanya Hargreeves Needs A Hug, klaus throws a sleepover, might add ships later, open to academy shipping
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-16
Updated: 2019-03-16
Packaged: 2019-11-19 01:30:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,657
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18129185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Misguidedghostwriter/pseuds/Misguidedghostwriter
Summary: Five manages to talk to Vanya before her escape from the soundproof room. He talks her down, a bit awkwardly albeit, and makes a decision; Vanya should not be left alone. So he and his siblings make taking care of Vanya their responsibility. It's time for a pretty little mix of angst and fluff to save the world.





	Little Sister, Little Brother, Please be Kind to One Another

It had been a long time since Five had been utterly alone. But he could never forget the feeling. There’s an iciness that comes with an empty world. There’s an ache in your whole body when you scream and no one can hear. There’s a pressure in your brain, a voice that starts small and gets louder; “You’re alone. You’re alone. No one can hear you. Alone, alone, alone, trapped, trapped, trapped, you’re going to die here, you’re going to die here. All alone.”

Your brain starts by knowing that the pile of rocks, and the baseball, and the gorgeous mannequin aren’t alive, but then you forget. You wrap yourself up in that fantasy, and no amount of positivity can stop it from becoming a nightmare. Life is utterly endless and void of meaning.

He stood outside her cell watching her scream. She had the power of sound in a soundless place. If anyone understood that, it was the time traveler who had lived in the end times.

Five took a deep breath and teleported into the room. He landed behind Vanya and touched touched her arm. She jumped, whipping her head around to stare at him.

She was a shaking, hyperventing, tear stained mess. Her eyes had a look Five knew too well. It was the look of someone who thought they were about to die. Did she believe this room was her coffin?

“Vanya .” He said her name, it was all he could come up with. As his voice rang out, it hit him. Vanya’s sobs were the only thing in the world. The chatter and whirr of everyday life had vanished. There was nothing. His brain screamed at the sudden change.

Vanya had woken up in this after being strangled. Speaking of the strangling, Five could see a bruise starting to form on her neck.

His sister shook her head violently and slumped on the floor, drawing her knees to her chest, which effectively closed herself off from Five. She may as well been screaming ‘go away! I don’t want you here!’ Five felt a little hurt at that, although he’d never admit it.

If she was the cause of the apocalypse, then Five had to stop her. Normally these things were solved with a bullet or a knife or in one case a pair of metal chopsticks and roller skates. That had been a fun mission. But this was Vanya he was talking about, a sibling and old childhood friend Five used to have snacks with. Murder was as off the table as blood-stained chopsticks.

He sat with her preparing himself for his most challenging mission of his life; being an emotionally supportive big brother.

In all his mental preparation, he hadn’t noticed he was spacing out until Vanya screamed. 

“ANSWER ME DAMMIT!”

“Huh?” He blinked, very glad for the soundproofing foam stopping Vanya’s voice from manifesting. If what happened to Allison was even a fraction of what Vanya could do, Five didn’t want to be on the receiving end of her power.

“ARE YOU-”

“Shhhh” Five hushed, he moved his hands up and couldn’t figure out what to do with them. Uncertain, he placed them on her cheeks and leaned forward looking into her eyes. “Just, shu” He huffed, ‘shut up’ was the wrong thing to say. “Be calm. Okay? I can get you out of here if you’re calm.” He regretted his words the second they meant open air. He couldn’t promise that.

“Are you,” She repeated, “real?”

That was concerning. “Yes, I’m real. Why? Is there something here that isn’t real.”

“Her.” Vanya pointed to the window. Between gasps, she choked out “She. Says. You’ll. Leave. Me. Here. Forever.”

He had no response to that. If he couldn’t figure out what to say, then maybe he could give himself a theme, and say words around that.

Protection, he decided, was the best theme. 

“Hallucinations will tell you that.” He began, “Trust me, I know. It’s just your brain repeating all your fears. I’m here, I’m real. I will stay with you and protect you. Even if the others tell me to leave, I won’t. I’ll fight for you.”

Vanya’s breathing slowed, not a lot, but it was progress. “You’re...you’re worth protecting.” He tried lamely. “You’re my sister. I missed you. We are friends, and we’re siblings, and I will keep you safe. That’s my new mission. You and me, in this cell until we figure it all out. Understood?”

She gave a tearful nod. “Ya.” She muttered “You promise we’ll leave soon?”

“Soon. But it’s important we stay here for a couple days.”

“Why?” Her voice was tight.

“The apocalypse is coming. I think your power is what causes it. If we can keep you safe past the deadline, the chances of us and the whole world dying goes down by a lot. We just need to stay put.”

She looked like she might be sick. “I can...my power can...how?”

“I’m not sure. But I’ve run the numbers a million times now, and there was always something missing. When we found out you had powers...it all clicked. You’re the cause. But I can fix it, that’s what I came here to do.”

“So you’re mission isn’t to protect me.” Her voice was a whisper, but it was impossible not to hear. She stood and backed away. “I’m just a symptom of your real mission. I’m just the side character. You’re lying. I don’t matter to you AT ALL. THAT’S ALL I AM! A PROBLEM! YOU ALL THINK YOU’RE BETTER THAN ME! NO ONE CARES!” She kicked a foam piece, acomphinshing absolutely nothing. Then she turned on Five.

He saw that she was taking a fighting stance, and he sighed and stood. “You don’t want to fight me.”

But it was too late, she ran at him.

A single kick to the inside of her knee was all it took to make Vanya hit the ground. He could have broken her leg with a bit more force, but he was careful not to. Five circled around waiting for another attack, but what he got was much worse. She curled up in a ball and went silent.

Anxiety creeped up Five’s spine. Had he kicked too hard? No, that was impossible, he had followed his training, adjusted for her height and weight, and accounted for the softness of the floor. She should be fine.

He too went silent, sitting on the foam and watching her. There was only breathing, the sound of his blood rushing in his ears, and his heartbeat. Wait...a heartbeat was a confined sound that wouldn’t be absorbed by the foam, so it could...

Shit.

“Hey,” He crawled over to Vanya and put a hand on her shoulder. She didn’t move. “I have an idea.”

No response.

“So, noise that is made in here is absorbed, right? But we can still hear it. So you won’t be able to use your powers if we get some music in here, right? So how’s this? We get an ipod, connect it to a speaker and we can listen to whatever songs you want.”

She said nothing. Five took that as a yes.

“Cool. I’ll…” He was about to say that he’d teleport up to the others, but beyond the fact that he’d be leaving Vanya alone, there were a lot of things that could go wrong with that idea. “Wait here with you. Someone will be down eventually to check up on us. We’ll ask them then.”

She didn’t respond, the room was plunged back into silence. That wouldn’t do, Five had to keep talking.

“And, Vanya, I wasn’t lying. You’re my new mission. The end of the world is taking a back seat to you, got it?”

That got a small sniffle out of her. She sat up and looked at Five with eyes that were either empty, or so full of meaning that the emotionally stunted Five couldn’t comprehend it.

“Okay.” She said quietly. “Hey...I think I can try something.”

“And that would be?”

Vanya held her hand to her chest and closed her eyes. She breathed in, and light crackled around her, seeming to pour out of her heart. She breathed out, and a sort of wind swept through the room. It smelled like ozone. Five felt an itching voice at the back of his head informing him that a storm was brewing.

He had a choice, he could tell her not to use her powers, or support her.

Vanya breathed in again, more energy poured from her soul bathing her in an alien light.

Five ran the numbers in his head, suppressing her powers was what got them into this mess in the first place. Alright then, he’d have to be supportive and constructive. That’s what an adult would do. Now he just had to figure out how.

“That’s...that’s really good Vanya. But I don’t think this is a very good place to practice.”

She breathed out, and more wind formed in the room. The air was heavy now with electricity. Vanya had gained an aura, the light was draped around her like a very impressive dress. The power moved softly for the time being, but Five couldn’t help but feel like he was admiring a very pretty gun. That wouldn’t be so bad if Vanya wasn’t waving it around with zero discipline. Wait...gun discipline. That was something Five knew.

He stood and walked right up to Vanya with an expression so disapproving that his father would have been proud.

The room was alive now, the wind whipped at Five’s hair. The energy around Vanya was hot, so much so that it almost hurt to stand by. Vanya herself was levitating a few inches off the foam. Five put his hands on her shoulder and pushed her downward.

“Stop.” He commanded, now standing over her. “You are going to get us both killed. I will teach you how to use your power. For the sake of the world, you, my baby sister, will listen to me. Stop. Right now.”

Slowly the energy dissipated she gave him a frustrated look.

“Quick.” Five began, “Give me the first 4 rules of gun safety.”

“What?”

“Now.”

“Uh...I dunno, don’t give guns to children or suicidal people,”

“Nope. Not even close.” Five crossed his arms. “Try again.”

“I have no idea.”

“Well, let me enlighten you. 1. Treat all guns like they’re loaded. 2. Never point a gun at anything you’re not willing to destroy. 3. Keep your finger off the trigger until you’re ready to fire. 4. Identify your target and what’s behind it.”

“O...Okay, what does that have to do with me?”

“See, now you’re asking the real questions. Your powers are amazing, but very dangerous with the potential to kill. Just like a gun. So let’s adjust the rules a bit.” Five wished he had a chalkboard, but settled for pacing and gesturing to get his points across.

“The first rule deals with respect. You should respect a gun and treat it like it’s loaded. Whenever you’re using your powers, treat them with respect. Keep in the back of your mind that you can be dangerous. One wrong thought and somebody is hurt or dead. You need to respect that. Got it?”

“Sort of.”

“Sort of won’t cut it. I didn’t respect my powers, and it got me into a lot of trouble. Allison didn’t respect hers and it got her divorced with no custody. Now, summarize what I just said.”

“Okay. Treat my powers like a loaded gun, and respect them.” Vanya said back.

“Great. The second rule deals with intent. If you’re going to use your powers to hurt someone, that person should be someone you are willing to hurt. Never use your powers against your siblings. Never use them against innocents. If you want to destroy something, you can. Know that. But if there’s any doubt at all on whether you should, don’t. Now, summarize.” Five was getting into teacher mode now. He had plenty of experience training new recruits at the Commision. He snapped with his last word.

“Don’t snap at me.” Vanya said, and energy crackled around her.

Five raised his eyebrow, undeterred.

“If I’m a loaded gun, then I should be treated with respect too. Plus I’m your sister.” She reminded moodily.

“Fair. I was getting too into character. Sorry. Should I repeat the rule?”

“No. I shouldn’t use my powers on anybody I don’t want to hurt.” She muttered back.

“Good. Next is simple, don’t use your powers if you don’t have a reason. Have a clear reason in your head, whether it’s to entertain, or harm or practice, and if you can’t find one, don’t use them. Now, please repeat that.”

“Only use my powers if I have a reason.” Vanya responded.

“Alright, and our last rule is to note your surroundings when you use your power. If your target can be eliminated, but your power has the potential to bring down a building, don’t bring down the building. Always think through your powers, and understand what can happen if things go sideways.”

“Got it. Pay attention to my surroundings and what my power can do to them.”

“Great! Now, all four points, list them out.”

Vanya nodded and drew her knees to her chest. “Respect my powers and the fact that they can do damage even when I don’t mean for them to. If I’m going to use my powers to hurt, I shouldn’t use them unless I know I want to hurt somebody. I should only use my powers if I have a reason. I should figure out what my powers could do to my surroundings and weigh the options before using them.”

“Ding ding ding!” Five grinned, donning a a game-show host voice, “Congratulations Miss Hargreeves! You’ve won the opportunity to get a brand new car, because the dealerships will still exist!”

Vanya gave him a smile.

For a second it was nice. Vanya felt listened to, Five got to bust out his teacher persona, and his game-show host voice in the same conversation, and the two had shared some honest to god bonding time.

“So…” Vanya trailed, “should we hug now?”

“Hug?”

“I dunno, it just kinda feels like a family thing to do, plus, I’m starting to feel sad again, and I...” She trailed off and stared at the floor.

Five gave an awkward nod and went to sit by Vanya. She didn’t move really, and Five felt a bit annoyed. A hug was a two person effort. He slid closer, then draped an arm around her. She sort of nuzzled up to him. He leaned his head on her shoulder.

It wasn’t so much a hug, more like an awkward cuddle. But it was more sober human contact than Five had had in a long time. He wasn’t sure if he liked it or not.

He felt even more uncomfortable when Vanya started crying.

Why the hell was she crying? Besides the obvious list of reasons.

Then Vanya grabbed him, and cuddled him like a teddy bear, sobbing into his hair. Five tensed and stared straight ahead a look of terror on his face.

“I don’t know why I’m crying!” Vanya wailed “I’ve never felt this sad and happy before!”

“E...ever?” Five breathed, mourning his crushed ribs.

“The…” Vanya practically whispered. “The meds I took stopped my emotions. I’ve never felt a lot of things.” She muttered.

Understanding found the unwantedly-cuddled Five. She had never experienced adult emotions. Five had a good understanding how an emotional shift could really fuck with your head, seeing as he was currently going through puberty for a second time. Vanya had the power of a goddess, and that power was attached to her emotions. She had full adult emotions, and the coping skills of an eight year old.

Not only that, but she was probably getting her old memories back. Said memories are of her trapped in this very room for days on end.

Had he not come to visit her he was fairly certain that the house would be a pile of rubble by now.

He shuddered remembering the carnage and smell of burnt flesh as he wandered through the academy ruins.

Five patted his sobbing sister’s back in a way one might pat a dog if they were trying to overcome a life long phobia of them. Was this how you comforted someone?

Five wished Klaus was here, he was good at emotional things. It was really the only thing that his brother excelled at when compared to Five. Although, maybe Five had underestimated Klaus. He had been on a time traveling adventure and managed to make it back the same week he left, which was more than Five could say.

Thankfully, Klaus’s ears must have been burning, as the young necromancer appeared at the window, staring in with wide eyes.

Vanya hadn’t noticed, she had her eyes closed. Sniffling had replaced the sobbing and burdened Five with the knowledge that there was now tears and snot in his hair.

‘Help me.’ Five mouthed.

Klaus nodded, held up a single finger to say ‘one second’ then he darted from the room, reappearing a minute or so later with a notepad and Allison.

Klaus wrote ‘Okay, I’ll write stuff out, and Ben will play messenger. He’s in there now. Just talk to him.’

Five tapped Vanya’s shoulder and pointed to the window. She looked before closing off again, wrapping her knees to her chest and starring in anguish at the grey wall.

Five frowned. “Okay…” He tried, a little jumpy at the fact that Ben was in the room with them. “We could use supplies. Music, food. I’m going to stay in here to make sure Vanya’s safe. She can use her powers in here with her heartbeat. Her powers a fueled by her emotion, so we need to keep her calm.”

For a second he didn’t know what to expect. He watched Klaus look ahead with eyes that were focused, but not on anything Five could see. Klaus went from understanding to troubled.

He wrote: ‘That’s not good. We can get music, and food. I can bring pillows too, maybe her violin, and some coloring books. I’ll look around’

“When can I leave?” Vanya’s voice rang out. She hadn’t even read Klaus’s response.

Again, the necromancer looked to the invisible force of his brother. He turned to Allison and seemed to ask her something. Allison held her hands toward the notepad in a 'gimmie' hand motion.

She wrote for a few seconds before pressing the paper to the window.

She had written: ‘After the Apocalypse deadline at least. You need to only hear sounds that you control so nothing overwhelms you. We’re going to keep you safe because we love you. You will have us with you every step, you won’t be alone ever, this is temporary.’

Five felt at ease with the response. Leave it to emotional Klaus and motherly Allison to say the right things. Five should ask them for lessons on the matter. He poked Vanya’s ribs in an annoying-older-brother sort of way, earning a glare from the violinist. Five pointed at the paper.

Vanya read it slowly, once twice and again like she was searching for a secret message. Then she nodded and started wiping tears from her face. It didn’t do much good however, as new tears replaced the lost ones.

“I think,” Five ventured, “we should take shifts hanging out with her. I have some loose ends to tie up, and I think we should all be there for her, not just me.” He also wanted to run fast and far from this emotionally supportive stuff, but he wasn’t going to mention that.

Klaus listened carefully to the reply then gave a thumbs up, taking the paper from Allison and jotting: ‘I call next shift! V, you and me are gonna have a sleepover!”

This earned a smile from Vanya. “V.” She whispered the word with a welling joy. Bright energy swirled around her in blissful waves.

Allison looked vaguely worried while Klaus gave an impressed thumbs up.

“Hey.” Five placed a stern hand on her shoulder. “Remember rule 3. Have a reason. Just being happy isn’t a reason.”

The energy dissipated for the most part. But a small glowing orb lingered. It rested in her hand that she had pressed to her chest. It pulsed very faintly to the rhythm of her heart and she looked at it with a loving expression. The orb lit her face romanticly, reminding Five of disney princesses and pixie-dust. Not wanting to acknowledge the powers of friendship and love at play in the room, the time traveler looked back to his siblings.

“We need overnight supplies and distractions. I’ll be in charge of bathroom breaks because I can teleport us both. I think it’s fair to say that you two should keep Luther away."

At the name, Vanya flinched and her light went out. She stared at her hands where the orb had been with a sort of pouty expression which reminded Five that, emotionally speaking, he was dealing with a child.

Klaus received the information with good grace. He jotted something down on the notepad, and handed it to Allison who added to it.

Klaus pressed the paper to the window. In his messy scrawl it read ‘Be right back.’ Beside it was Allison’s more perky style. ‘We love you both.’

They folded the paper on the window so it stayed steady, then disappeared from view.

“Alright,” Five said when they were gone, “now we get to do the most important job in the history of the world.”

“What’s that?” Vanya asked.

“We save the planet by sitting on our butts and doing nothing.”

That got a small chuckle from Vanya.

**Author's Note:**

> My favorite line for the next chapter is as follows "If he [leonard] ever shows his face around me or you, I'll make his afterlife hell." But who says it, Ben or Klaus? Tune in to find out!


End file.
